ID :
31850
Sun, 11/23/2008 - 18:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/31850
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea likely to expel S. Koreans from Kaesong complex: civic group
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is expected to expel some South Korean
officials from a joint industrial compound in its territory as part of its threat
to shut down the facility, a South Korean civic group said Sunday.
Inter-Korean relations have chilled since South Korea's conservative government
of President Lee Myung-bak took office in February, promising to take a tough
stance toward North Korea.
On Nov. 12, the North declared that it will strictly restrict border crossings
from Dec. 1 unless Seoul changes its hard-line policy toward the communist
country. Seoul has refused to back down.
On Sunday, the South Korean civic group, called the Civic Alliance of South and
North Korea, claimed that Pyongyang is expected to kick out several South Korean
officials from the Kaesong Industrial District Management Complex just outside
the inter-Korean border.
About 45 South Korean officials are currently working at the Kaesong District
Industrial Complex to help support more than 80 small-sized South Korean firms
operating there. They include about a dozen officials from the state-run Korea
Land Corporation (KLC).
"The North views officials at the KLC and the management committee as
quasi-government officials," Kim Kyu-chul, head of the civic group said, citing an
unidentified source.
During an inspection visit to the South Korea-funded industrial zone earlier this
month, North Korean military officials indicated that those South Korean
officials at the complex have no reason to stay there, he added.
The joint industrial complex, along with now-suspended sightseeing tour of Mount
Geumgang, a scenic resort on the North's east coast, is a major product of the
"sunshine" policy of engaging North Korea that was pushed by South Korea's past
liberal governments.
The current South Korean government has toughened its policy toward North Korea,
declaring that it would help North Korea economically and politically only when
the communist regime gives up its nuclear ambitions.
(END)
officials from a joint industrial compound in its territory as part of its threat
to shut down the facility, a South Korean civic group said Sunday.
Inter-Korean relations have chilled since South Korea's conservative government
of President Lee Myung-bak took office in February, promising to take a tough
stance toward North Korea.
On Nov. 12, the North declared that it will strictly restrict border crossings
from Dec. 1 unless Seoul changes its hard-line policy toward the communist
country. Seoul has refused to back down.
On Sunday, the South Korean civic group, called the Civic Alliance of South and
North Korea, claimed that Pyongyang is expected to kick out several South Korean
officials from the Kaesong Industrial District Management Complex just outside
the inter-Korean border.
About 45 South Korean officials are currently working at the Kaesong District
Industrial Complex to help support more than 80 small-sized South Korean firms
operating there. They include about a dozen officials from the state-run Korea
Land Corporation (KLC).
"The North views officials at the KLC and the management committee as
quasi-government officials," Kim Kyu-chul, head of the civic group said, citing an
unidentified source.
During an inspection visit to the South Korea-funded industrial zone earlier this
month, North Korean military officials indicated that those South Korean
officials at the complex have no reason to stay there, he added.
The joint industrial complex, along with now-suspended sightseeing tour of Mount
Geumgang, a scenic resort on the North's east coast, is a major product of the
"sunshine" policy of engaging North Korea that was pushed by South Korea's past
liberal governments.
The current South Korean government has toughened its policy toward North Korea,
declaring that it would help North Korea economically and politically only when
the communist regime gives up its nuclear ambitions.
(END)
